Friday, April 6, 2012

The Gulen Institute at Houston University which has been bringing preeminent figures of the US together for various conferences held its latest panel this week. The subject of the panel was "The Role of Common Values in Mitigating Global and Local Issues". Panelists addressed the current challenges of the US in particular and the world in general, and discussed how all agents in a society offer solutions to these problems using common shared values.
The panel lasted for three days. It has brought many eminent figures from different segments of society who brought their expertise and experience to the table.

The panelists gave their views on how government and media can use common values to address problems. In addition, panelists talked about the common grounds in religion to create a set of moral actions which can be used to mitigate global and local problems surrounding the society.

Sheila Jackson Lee, a member of Congress said that dialogue among people from different backgrounds contributes to the greater peace as the world is becoming a small family. She also appreciated the efforts of the Gulen Institute and Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim Scholar.

Sheriff Adrian Garcia also appreciated the activities of the Gulen Institute and said the creation of a much greater society will be possible through diverse communities' getting together, developing a relationship, respecting one another, and defining their commonalities.

Gordon J. Quan brought a different perspective on Fethullah Gulen, the scholar who has inspired the Gulen Insitute in their endeavors for dialogue and understanding. He said that Mr. Gulen is among certain people who had God's gift such as Obama, Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln. He stated that Gulen points at a broader good of each person rather than seeing them as just Chinese, Turkish or American.